Almost Home
by SPNOUAT
Summary: When a car crashes in front of Emma Swan, it is up to her to get the stranger to the hospital. Easier said than done as she currently in the middle of nowhere with only her horse and a growing attachment to this stranger who has for better or worse just added himself to her worry list. (M for future chapters)
1. Stranger

_**Stranger you followed me so far,**_

 _ **Until the roads converged, as did the stars,**_

 _ **Stranger the moon looks blue tonight,**_

 _ **Your photo framed, raw within my mind, but not tonight.**_

 _ **Katie Costello, Stranger**_

Dusk was slowly sweeping over the curving dirt road. Emma urged her horse on with a light squeeze of her claves.

 _Dammit,_ she thought. _David's gonna kill me. And then James, and then me again._ David hated her riding the back roads in the dark, the sharp turns, the blind hills. _I can hear the lecture now._

But this time it really wasn't her fault. Honest. This was all James. Okay so maybe she had been the one to taken the damn horse from Marco's old stables. But James was the one to go and pick him up, and he had been at this long enough to know to have asked Marco what kind of grain the poor old gelding had been getting. But he hadn't. So here she was.

 _Okay, so maybe it's a tiny bit my fault for taking a horse instead of the truck._ She couldn't argue with herself. The truck had been sitting there, and seemed like quite a good idea now that the sun was sinking lower and lower over the tree coated horizon. She couldn't resist taking Bug out though. A chance to take her pretty Palomino for a trail ride wasn't something she was going to pass up. On the downside however, that put her here, close to dark, with a saddle bag full of feed that she would have to go into town to buy more of in the morning.

Despite her bad luck, Emma had to admit it was beautiful. The fading sunlight shown lightly through the golden and red leaves of the oak trees, dappling the road in their pattern. It was peaceful, a few birds still sang, and the wind rustled lightly through the yellow wild flowers next to her horse's legs.

 _And to think there was a time I was gonna leave this all behind._ The thought still made her cringe, even after four years. It didn't last long, however, as a loud screech and crash sent her horse rushing in the opposite direction.

"Easy! Easy now!" Emma said to Bug as she pulled her left rein tight, bring the frightened horse back to the direction she had run from. The loud noises had stopped, to be replaced by something almost worse. It was eerily quiet now. No more birds, even the wind had seemed frightened into a sudden halt. Through the tree ahead came a soft sound: a light crackle, a soft rustle.

Bug began to walk forward again, now rounding the curve. The peaceful scene changed in an instant. A lone car was wrapped around a tall sycamore on the side of the road, throwing red flames high into to sky.

"Oh god." Emma coughed as the smoke reached her and Bug, causing the spooked mare to stop dead in her tracks. The sun had dropped even further now, bathing the sky in a red blaze. Emma quickly pulled out her cell phone, before a quick glance at the screen reminded her of where she was: the middle of nowhere with zero chance at getting any reception. "Come on Bug," she whispered, urging her closer.

Dismounting, Emma looped Bug's reins around a tree before rushing over to the car. It was flipped on its head, with flames billowing from the engine. She didn't know what she could do, but she had to do something. Cars rarely passed through this road as it only lead to Marco's farm, and Emma knew that by now Marco was most likely sitting by his fire carving something or another out of a block of wood.

 _Here's to hoping he decides to go for a little drive tonight._

Emma bent as close as she could to the car's windows. From what she could see there was only one man sitting in the driver's seat. He hung limp from his seat belt, blood slowly dripping down his forehead and through his dark hair.

Smoke was filling the air in the car and Emma began to cough, _I can't even imagine how he feels right now._ She pulled at the door handle, but the stubborn medal wasn't budging. _I need help,_ she thought, frantically looking around her hoping for a miracle. _Not exactly a miracle, but I've had worse ideas,_ Emma thought to herself as her eyes landed on Bug.

It didn't take long before she had her rope tided at one end to her saddle horn and the other to the door.

"Come on girl, move it!" Emma chanted to Bug as she led the horse away from the car. The old rope pulled taunt, and the door gave a loud creak before springing open. Emma rushed to the man still unconscious in the car.

"Hey! Buddy! Wake up!" Emma called into his ear as she shook his shoulders. The man gave no response. "Alright-" Emma began before a round of coughing over took her. The flames were getting bigger, the smoke thicker, and the last rays of the sun were working across the surface of the road. "Plan B. it is then." Emma grunted, pulling her shirt collar over her nose.

Unbuckling the man's seat belt proved to be more of a challenge than she had imagined. She wound up completely underneath him to reach for it. The heat within the car was almost unbearable. She gave a sympathetic cringe at the black leather jacket the man wore, he was surely roasting in it. She managed to get the seat belt undone.

"Oh god!" She yelled in surprise as the man dropped forward into her once freed from the seat belt, _guess I didn't really think that one through._ She heaved, she pulled, and she drug. The man's body moved slowly, the dead weight of him nearly suffocating her in the smoke and flames. Surely, but oh so slowly, Emma pulled him through the door, and onto the ground a few feet beside the car.

"Bug!" She called, before letting out a low whistle. The mare came hesitantly, each step paired with a flare of her nostrils and wide eyes. Pulling herself out from under the man, Emma grabbed Bugs reins. She would never be able to lift the stranger that high, but Bug wasn't her star girl for nothing. Walking the horse next to the man, Emma cued her to bow as she had done many times before. After asking her to stay down, Emma worked as quickly as she could to drag the man across Bugs' neck and the front of her saddle. Emma was quick to claim into the saddle before asking Bug to stand.

The man's weight shifted as the mare stood, but with Emma's hands firmly latched onto his arms and the leather of his jacket he stayed in place. With a kiss to Bug they were off. _That's gotta hurt,_ Emma thought, watching the man bounce around the front of her saddle as she cantered on. _Sorry pal, but the sooner I get you to the hospital the better._

Night had fully fallen by the time Bug's hooves touched the main drag into town. Sleepy little Storybrooke was down for the night. Even Granny's, which stayed open far past anything else, had their closed sign out front. _On the upside,_ Emma thought with a dark chuckle, _no traffic to worry about._ Storybrooke General was just down the street, but wasn't the sole source of light as Emma cantered up to it. The police station stood across the street, and the loud clatter of Bug's hooves against the pavement drew out its occupants.

"Emma!" David called, rushing out the doors, James hot on his heels. "What happened?"

"He crashed his car on the old bridge road, the whole thing is going up in flames." She said, helping to push the man into James and David's waiting arms.

"The troll bridge road?" James asked, slinging the man's arm over his shoulder as David did the same with the other.

"That's the one, I was riding home when I saw him." Emma explained, dismounting Bug before latching her to the pole outside the building with a quick pat to her neck.

"Wait, you were on that road at night?" David exclaimed as Emma ran forward to open the doors to Storybrooke General.

"That is neither here nor there!" Emma sighed as a group of nurses came rushing forward.

For Emma, the next few hours went by in a blur. David and James rushed off to call the fire department and attend to the still burning car. A kind nurse asked Emma a few questions about the man, to which Emma had no answers. They found no ID on him, no cellphone, not even a wallet. As a result, Emma was put as his emergency contact.

It was nearing 1 AM when David and James returned. The whole car was ablaze when the firefighters had arrived with James and David. Any clue as to who the strange man might have been was gone now, along with most of the grass and all of the leaves of the tree he had hit. It was James who informed her that the firefighters said it was lucky they had gotten there before the fire had spread and caused any damage to the surrounding farm fields. It was David, however, that finally sent her home.

"You need to get some sleep." He told her as her walked her out of the hospital.

"What about Bug?" She protested as her walked her to the car.

"I put her in a trailer and sent her home with Marco's son hours ago Ems."

"You did? Where was I?" She asked, trying to remember the last time she had looked outside at her beloved horse. She had made sure to bring her a bucket of water – curtesy of the kind nurse – around 11.

"You were talking to a nurse about John Doe." He laughed. "Don't worry so much," he said, catching the look on her face. "Dr. Whale said he was going to be fine."

"He said he might be fine. He hasn't even woken up yet. They don't even know if he will." Emma couldn't figure out why the idea hurt so much, but she knew if he didn't wake up it always would.

"He will." David said climbing in the car after her.

"And how are you so sure?" Emma asked, turning towards him from the passenger seat of his police cruiser.

"Because you already saved him. The world wouldn't have put you through all that just to let him slip through the cracks now." David told her with a smile.

Her quiet reply was into the glass of the window, "I don't feel like I saved anyone."


	2. Doctor

_**Oh I wish I was a doctor who could heal your broken heart,**_

 _ **Analyze each bruise and hear your story from the start,**_

 _ **And stich up every tiny tear with a ribbon and a bow,**_

 _ **Prescribe you some new medicine that makes you feel less alone.**_

 _ **Emily Kinney: Doctor**_

If there was one thing her years on this Misthaven Ranch had taught her, it was that horses and lazy mornings didn't go well together. Despite her late night of arriving home after 2 AM to check on Mary Margret and Henry, Emma was still up with the rising sun and out to the barn. Each horses was fed, each water bucket was filled, and what seemed like countless flakes of hay were thrown before she made it back into the house to get Henry ready for the day.

"I don't know how you do it." Came to sleepy voice of Mary Margret as the petite brunette walked into the kitchen to find Emma making eggs with Henry balanced on her hip.

"Years of practice." Emma replied, sliding a freshly made plate to her. "And thanks again for looking after Henry and the new gelding last night." With everything going on at the hospital the poor horse hadn't gotten anything more than some extra hay last night. It did make a pang of guilt course through her as she watched him devour his grain this morning.

"It was no trouble," Mary Margret smiled. "And you know I love spending time with this little guy." Mary Margret pinched Henry's check as she walked by.

"No, Aunt Mary! No!" Henry wiggled in Emma's arms to be let down, and Emma complied.

"When are you and David gonna get on with having your own so he stops stealing mine?" Emma laughed, thinking of last weekend when David and James had commandeered Henry for what they declared a boys weekend.

"Hey give us some time! We need our house back first!" Mary Margret protested, flicking her fork in Emma's direction. The renovations on the Nolan's house were taking longer than expected. Emma secretly thought David kept finding something else to be fixed to delay their return. He always said that he loved the little house in the suburbs with its white picket fence, but Emma knew him too well. As much as he might claim it was perfect he grew up here on the ranch, he wanted something with a little more space. A bit more yard at least.

"Yeah, at the rate its going Henry will be in college by the time you guys get your house." Emma laughed.

"We not intruding are we? Oh I told David that we shouldn't stay too long. The last thing I wanted to do was-"

"Whoa, whoa, relax. You're not really. I was just mocking David. And honestly this place is as much David and James as it is mine." Emma soothed. _A little more if I'm being honest,_ she admitted quietly to herself.

"Well it does make me feel a bit better to remember that James has been crashing her longer than us." The brunette had a point, James had moved back into the old farm house quite some time ago now.

Before Emma could reply, her phone rang.

"Now I have service," she muttered to herself before answering. "Hello?"

"Emma, this is Doctor Whale. I'm calling about our new John Doe."

Emma had intended to go to the hospital alone, but seeing as Henry had latched himself to her legs and absolutely refused to be left behind, her plans had changed. That now left Emma sitting waiting in Dr. Whale's office reminding said boy several times not touch anything before giving up and pulling him onto her lap.

"Emma, thanks for coming in," Dr. Whale voice startled her more than she would care to admit. There was just something off about him that put her on edge. _And the old ghost stories about him resurrecting his dead dog from James probably aren't helping,_ she though as she pulled Henry closer. "Hello young Henry," Dr. Whale said to the young boy.

"You said you wanted to talk about John Doe?" Emma prompted as Henry himself drew further back from the pale man sitting before her. _I'll have to keep James from saying anything to Henry or I'll never get him back here for his yearly check-up._

"Yes, well seeing as we still don't have an ID on him, you're still his emergency contact. Now normally I would be informing any family members about his current condition, but right now we have to assume he doesn't have any." Dr. Whale began before being interrupted by a small voice.

"He hasn't got a family?" Henry asked looking up at his mom with large eyes. _Oh no, not that look._

"Not that we know of," Dr. Whale replied before Emma could stop him. "So I'm going to-"

"Then we can be his family!" Henry yelled, jumping in Emma's lap. "He can stay with us like the horses Momma brings home!"

"Henry, baby he's not a horse. And I need you to be quite for just a little bit so I can talk to Dr. Whale okay?" Truthfully Emma was a bit mortified. Two seconds into the meeting and Henry already wanted to bring the man home. _Maybe it's Mary Margret and her happily ever after speeches that I need to keep Henry away from._

"As I was saying," Dr. Whale began again, with a side glance at the young boy in her lap who looked as if he was already planning out the stranger's room in her house. "I'm going to be keeping you up to date on any changes with John Doe." 

"Any changes? Does that mean there hasn't been any change since last night? Is he still asleep?" A pit of worry was growing in her stomach.

"I'm afraid not, but he's had severe trauma. Aside from the crack in his skull, I also had to operate on his hand." Dr. Whale was now flipping through John Doe's chart, and pulled out an x-ray.

"Wait his hand? His hand was fine, the only blood I saw was on his head." She could remember every second of that ride to the hospital. She remembered how warm his blood felt as it seeped through the fabric of her jeans. She wondered how long she would remember that for. How long she would remember the feeling of dread, thinking that she might not make it in time. Even the thought now of how he could have slipped away while slung across her saddle made her sick.

"His left hand seemed to have be crushed upon impact. We've put it in a cast, but it was the lack of blood flow that caused the concern. His tissue went sometime without an oxygen. We were able to restore it, and the good news is that he should be able to regain nearly full use of it with some physical therapy." He delivered these line as if they were the weather. _You're not helping the rumors, buddy._ The thought almost made Emma laugh. Almost.

"So what now?" She asked.

"Can we see him?" Henry piped chimed in, unable to keep quite any longer.

"Of course." Dr. Whale stood abruptly, and turned to walk out of the room. "He's just down this way if you'll follow me."

Emma's head was spinning. Most people would take in a stray cat, or adopt a rescue dog. She had been known to take in a horse every now and then (despite what she told David about Misthaven not being a rescue). However, she had never seen a situation in which she would be taking on responsibility of a grown man. _Okay, get a grip you've always known that there's a fifty-fifty chance that you will be taking care of James for the rest of his life._

Regardless, she was. At least until they found out who he was. So she walked with Henry behind Dr. Whale to John Doe's room. It wasn't a large room by any means, but it was private. It held only a single bed surrounded by machines. John Doe lay on said bed with all sorts of wires and tubes.

"He's got a trachea tube in right now to breathe for him, and we have him hooked up to an IV line with fluids. A nurse is coming in regularly to check on him, so if you're in here you might see one or myself." Dr. Whale didn't seem phased by how pale John Doe looked, or the large bandage now covering his forehead.

"Thank you Doctor." Emma said, hoping that this meeting was coming to a close so she could get herself and Henry away from this eerie man. _Come to think of it, I don't really want to leave John Doe with him either._

"Well, that's all I have for today. Just call if you need anything." With that, Dr. Whale walked quickly out of the room.

"Momma why's he sleeping?" Henry asked, pulling his hand from hers as he walked over to the bed before she could catch him.

"Honey be careful and don't touch!" Emma scolded while stopping Henry from grabbing John Doe's bandage hand. "He's hurt. His body needs sleep to get better."

"How'd he get hurt?" He was always so curious, never a dull moment with her sweet boy.

"I don't really know sweetie. He was in a bad car accident."

"And he's got no family? No momma?" His big sad brown eyes looked up at her with such heartbreak she could barely stand it. He couldn't bear to see someone in pain. He wanted the happily ever after Mary Margret had promised for everyone.

"I don't know sweetie. We won't know until he wakes up." Emma said gently, running her fingers through his hair.

"Then we have to wake him up!" Henry said excitedly. "After he wakes up we can find his family and he can live happy ever after!" Henry pulled her closer to the bed to get a better look at John Doe.

"It's not that simple baby, he's got to wake up on his own." She never wanted to break his little heart, but Emma couldn't let him run with false hope.

"Yeah it is! He's like the princess! He needs True Love's kiss to wake him up!" Henry always had loved his fairytales, she shouldn't have been surprised that a coma would remind him of a sleeping curse.

"Maybe." She said tiredly. "We can think about that tomorrow. We have to go see Uncle David and Uncle James right now okay?" It was still early in the day, but already Emma felt so exhausted. A long night, coupled with the very reason for it being in front of her with a worryingly pale complexion, was a little more than she wanted right now.

"Okay," Henry said. But he wouldn't leave before saying a proper good bye. At least that's what Emma had thought he was doing. In reality, Henry had something very important to say to Mr. John Doe:

"Don't worry, Momma and I will wake you up. Will find your true love."


	3. Kiss Me

_**Kiss me like you wanna be loved**_ _ **  
**_ _ **You wanna be loved**_ _ **  
**_ _ **You wanna be loved**_ _ **  
**_ _ **This feels like falling in love**_ _ **  
**_ _ **Falling in love**_ _ **  
**_ _ **We're falling in love.**_

 _ **-Ed Sheeran: Kiss Me**_

Emma had barely gotten Henry through the door of the police station before he was swooped out of her arms by James.

"Hey little man!" James laughed, tossing Henry in the air a couple feet before catching him again.

"One of these days I am gonna drop dead of a heart attack you know," Emma scolded, trying to resist the urge to pull her baby back into her arms.

"No mama, it's fun!" Henry laughed, clapping his hands for James to toss him again.

"Yeah, mama it's fun." James was smirking as David approached. He was followed by Graham, who seemed to be carrying a whole cabinet worth of files.

"What's he done now?" David asked, seeing the look on Emma's face.

"Oh the usual, throwing my child about like a football." Emma shook her head as James walked Henry over to his desk where he had hidden some toys from his last visit. "We just came by to ask about John Doe."

"No good news from the doctor I take it." Graham asked.

"Not unless you call still being asleep good news." Emma had yet to take her eyes off Henry, and before Graham could answer she overheard Henry's small voice telling James all about the Doctor's office.

"You went to see Dr. Whale, huh. Well did you hear-"James then dropped his voice lower and Emma knew she needed to act.

"David please God stop him. Dr. Whale is creepy enough as it is, I don't need any more trouble getting Henry to go see him than I already do."

"On it." David chuckled, rushing over to swoop Henry straight out of James arms. David then preceded to run straight out of the room with James running after him with a shout.

"Well now that that's settled, please tell me you have some good news." Emma turned to Graham then, with a hopeful expression.

"Well good news and bad." He replied with a sheepish smile. "Which one do you want first?"

Emma gave a dramatic sigh before her answer, "Just lay the bad news on me." They walked into Graham's office. It was the only office in the station, as the entire force was made up of Graham as the sheriff, and James and David as his two deputies. Graham walked around to his chair, placing the large stack of files on his desk as he sat, gesturing for Emma to take the other seat.

"Well the bad news is that his entire car went up in flames, even the license plate was melted down."

"Which means you still have no idea who he is." _And I'm still his contact for the hospital._ The thought should have scared her, being responsible for this virtual stranger, but what actually frightened her was the fact that it didn't. It felt right.

"Unfortunately." He sighed.

"And the good news?"

"His car was expensive." Graham smiled.

"How is an expensive car going up in flames good news?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at the sheriff.

"Expensive cars belong to rich people, and rich people don't go missing without someone looking for them." He then pulled the file on the top of his stack toward him. Opening it, he handed it to Emma.

The file held a lot the Emma didn't understand, even after years of her brothers working in the field. "So you think someone will come to claim him?" The idea sat deep in her stomach, like a cold rock.

"Eventually, the car was unique. Special features you don't normally see- well from what the mechanic could make out after the fire was stopped." Graham told her, gesturing to parts of the file as he spoke.

"So the hope of finding this guys' family rests on Tillman's?" She had nothing against Michael, but since his ex-wife dropped his kids at his door and he gained full custody Emma couldn't help but notice that every repair seemed to take more than a little longer than it should.

"Storybrooke has had worse odd before and still found their mark." He shrugged.

"I guess so." Emma said. She turned her head to look out the window, hoping against hope that he didn't see her reaction to his words.

"Hey. I didn't- what I meant was –"he paused, running one hand through his hair before continuing. "Are you going to be okay to do this? I can always have the hospital put someone else down as his emergency contact."

"I'm fine." Emma said quickly. "Just tell me what we do next."

"Really, Em. I know that road brings up a lot of-"

"I said I'm fine." She couldn't stop herself from snapping. _Just like he couldn't stop himself from asking._ She thought bitterly to herself. "What's next?"

"We get the report from Tillman. We put out an alert with the car and a description of him, and we check missing person reports. Hope something turns up." He replied after a moment, studying her carefully.

"And what do I need to do?" She asked tensely.

"There's nothing much you can do. Just the waiting game now." He said softly.

"Alright, I can do that from home. Call me if you find something." She stood quickly, leaving no room for debate as she left the office in search of her son and brothers.

It was only noon by the time Emma had dropped Henry off at day care with Aurora and returned to the ranch. It was yet another beautiful day, but she doubted that she would have any time for another trail ride. Not to mention the last one had pushed forward memories and thoughts she would rather forget. No, it was best to focus on work. Which is what she was doing now, as she led Marco's old gelding into his new pasture.

"I thought you weren't a rescue." Mary Margret's voice floated across the grass field as Emma walked back through the gate, and away from the gelding who was now happily grazing with the other older horse of Misthaven.

"I'm not." Emma knew this discussion was coming, but she had expected it to be David to bring it up.

"Really, because that's three more in the last month." Mary Margret laughed.

"And four rehomed in the last two. Anyways, who can say no to that face?" Emma smiled as she leaned against the fence, watching as an old mare meandered up to the fence in search of treats.

"Don't you mean 'how could you say no to Marco?'" Mary Margret teased. It was true, Emma never could say no to the kind old man. Not after he had adopted her childhood best friend when she was only eight.

"Fair point." She chuckled.

"How is August? I barely saw him when he brought Bug home last night." Mary Margret followed Emma to the barn.

"He's good," Emma began, placing her halter and lead on a hook to one of the stalls before heading to the tack room. "He's planning on staying in town a little longer this time." August had grown up in Storybrooke with Emma, but unlike her he had left the second his high school diploma had been placed in his hand. Since then he had become a world traveler. Not more than a couple days ever went by on his trips without Emma receiving a post card, letter, or skype call. Even from thousands of miles away he was still her best friend.

"That's wonderful!" Mary Margret exclaimed. "We all need to do something! Maybe have a nice dinner in the city." Emma could already see the party wheels turning in her head.

"Or a nice trail ride." Emma said with a smirk. It was something of a low blow, but she could resist seeing the look on her sister-in-law's face.

"Not funny." Mary Margret said glumly.

"Oh come on. You have to get back on a horse sometime."

It was common knowledge in Storybrooke that Mary Margret Blanchard and horses did not mix. She had grown up in a two bedroom apartment on Main Street living with only her father after her mothers had passed. It wasn't until her first date with David that she had ever even gotten close to a horse. The date had ended in disaster, with Mary Margret throwing her riding helmet at David's head – and catching him in the jaw in the process- and promising that she would never go out with him again.

"I think one near death experience is enough for a life time." Mary Margret replied, eyeing the horse in the stall closest to her with suspicion.

"You forget I was there. You in no way almost died, but you did almost take David's head off with that helmet." Emma pulled a beautiful dark roan out of the stall, causing Mary Margret to take several steps back as she hooked him up to the cross ties.

"I barely grazed him." Mary Margret retorted.

"He still has a scar." Emma laughed. "Either way, one mishap from David not tightening the girth and putting you on the wrong horse shouldn't stop you from riding forever." Emma couldn't imagine her life without horses. _At least not now…_ It was best to stop that train of thought there.

"You might like hanging off the side of a horses who running at full pace, but I certainly don't." She had Emma there. Not many people in Storybrooke understood why she trained trick riding and liberty horses when she could be training cutting horses like David and James' mother Ruth had done.

"Speaking or which, I gotta get Rufio here out into the arena for some work." Emma said with a pat to the roan's neck. "His owner wants to follow the Rodeo circuit south this winter." Rufio's owner, Tina Bell, was a popular trick rider, but he didn't seem to respond to the girl's training methods quite like her other horses. When Tina heard about Misthaven from a friend she drove straight to Storybrooke and demanded that Emma help her train him.

"Alright, alright, I'll let you get to work. But talk to August, see what he wants to do." Mary Margret left Emma to saddle Rufio then.

"Okay boy, let's see why your owner thinks you're so lost in your training." Emma said softly to Rufio as she led him to the arena.

Emma was surprised at how much and little her life seemed to have changed since the crash. Her morning routine was thrown for. Normally she spent long mornings with Henry after feeding the horses and before dropping him off at day care. Now though, each morning was dedicated to visiting John Doe. After each visit her day seemed to pick up where it usually was though. Between her client horses and her house being full with her brothers Emma kept busy. Most nights in the last two weeks she had spent with August. He either came by for dinner with everyone or invited Emma and Henry over to dinner with his father. She loved to be able to talk to August in person again.

August didn't ask about John Doe or the accident the way everyone else seemed to. Mary Margret always asked with a tightly wound concern for the poor man lying in the hospital bed, and a well-meaning but felt condescending concern for Emma. David asked with a protective air, as if he wanted the answer only so he could protect her from it. James asked about him in the way he asked about everything, with a sense of humor. Emma couldn't help but hate answer Graham every morning. She couldn't explain why, but she felt almost guilty every time she had to tell the deputy that no, he wasn't awake yet and no, she could tell him where to find his family. August asked with understanding. He didn't ask to see if she was okay with all the memories that were being thrown her way. He didn't ask to see if she was handling everything. He asked, well he asked just to ask. Just to let her talk about this man lying in the hospital bed.

And Emma did want to talk about him. She wanted to talk about how Henry had started bringing fairy tales for her to read to him after talking to Dr. Whale. She wanted to talk about how Henry hugged him goodbye after every visit. She wanted to talk about his black leather jacket, which the blood had washed off nicely and was the only surviving article of his wardrobe after the crash. She wanted to talk about how despite the wash, sitting next to his jacket she could smell salt water and sunshine. She wanted to talk about the slowly fading tan line on his left ring finger. At least, what she could see of it in the cast. She wanted to talk about the scar on his cheek and wonder how he got it. Mostly though, she wanted to talk about how every time she walked Henry out the door, she wanted to turn back around and embrace him as Henry had. If only to give him some small comfort that he wasn't as alone as everyone in the town now thought.

She wanted to talk about all of this. Yet even with August, she didn't. She would tell him anything Dr. Whale had told her, any updates from the police station, and anything Henry had said. And as the best friend she knew him to be, he heard all the things she wanted to say, but left unsaid. She didn't know what she was going to do when he left today. She had told Henry that he wouldn't be going to day care today so that they could see him off after their daily visit to John Doe.

John Doe's room is where she now sat, reading Henry's story book to said man while Henry leaned against her leg.

"Momma?" Henry asked her suddenly.

"Yeah kid?" She asked, running her fingers through his hair.

"What if he hasn't met his princess yet?" He asked with wide eyes looking up at her.

"What princess baby?" Emma asked, eyebrows pulling together in confusion.

"His princess, to wake him up from the curse! What if he hasn't seen her yet? Maybe she's here, maybe that's why the curse got 'em when he came here!" He bounced in the chair with each progressing thought.

"Henry…" Emma didn't want to have to tell her son that this wasn't magic. That this wasn't an easy fix, a fairy tale world where only good things happened and princess and princes lived happily ever after. Emma had known that her whole life. She wanted to keep that pain from her son, but the last thing she wanted to do was give him false hope, only to yank the rug out from under him. "It's time to go." _A problem delayed is a problem denied._ She hoped at least.

"Already?" He pouted, sticking out his lower lip and giving her his best puppy dog eyes.

"Don't you want to spend one last day with Uncle August before he goes." She asked, knowing full well the answer.

"Yeah," he said with a dramatic sigh. "But I gotta say goodbye to Mr. Doe first." With that Henry was up and by John Doe's bed side, stepping on the chair to wrap his small arms around the unconscious man.

"Okay baby lets go." Emma said, holding out her hand for Henry to take.

A devious smile had crept upon Henry's face while she waited for him to take her hand.

 _Oh this is gonna be good._ She thought to herself watching her boy.

"But Momma, you gotta say bye to Mr. Doe." Henry whined, still smiling like the cat that got the canary.

Emma eyed him before joining him at John Doe's bed side. She lightly squeezed the man's shoulder before muttering a quite good bye. "Alrighty Henry, we gotta move." She started to walk away before a small hand wrapped around her's holding her in place.

"Momma! Henry complained. "He needs a real bye, like the bye's Uncle August get!"

 _Uncle August – oh. Oh I see._ Emma thought to herself. Emma never let August leave without a kiss to his cheek for good luck on his travels, a tradition they had started long ago. _Henry thinks John Doe needs True Love's kiss, and that his True Love is in Storybrooke_. What better way to find it then to have random people start kissing this poor comatose man. A thought occurred to Emma then. She may not have to tell Henry that all these fantasies were just that, a fantasy. She could show him, little by little, what the real world was without crushing him. John Doe would wake up eventually, and when he did Henry would see it as it was; a medical condition, not a sleeping curse.

"Oh how silly of me," Emma said playing along.

With a silent apology to her – _no not her -_ John Doe, Emma leaned down slowly and placed her lips softly to John Doe's cheek.


	4. Wake Me Up

**So wake me up when it's all over,**

 **When I'm wiser and I'm older,**

 **All this time I was finding myself,**

 **And I didn't know I was lost.**

 **-Avicci: Wake Me Up**

If there was one thing that could be said about Emma, it was that she was a sensible woman. Years of working with horses had taught her to believe what she could she, what she could feel. She knew when a horse was scared by watching his nostrils flair or by feeling him tense underneath the saddle. She knew when a rescued who had come to her had been abused by the way the flinched at the slightest move. She could feel love when Bug pushed her muzzle gently into her chest. She could see when a horse was frustrated, lazy, or content. She could see things in their expression that others could. She knew things from looking at them, even when Mary Margret called her crazy or told her they were "just a horse". She knew all these things because she had learned them over the years. She had learned them through physical proof. Years of sweat, blood, and tears.

If there's one thing that couldn't be said about Emma, it was that she believed in the fantastical. To her, magic existed in watching Henry with his pony learning to ride. It was in playing cards on Friday night with James, or helping David and Mary Margret with their new house. It was the small moments in her life that she knew others would take for granted. It was not in fairy tales. It wasn't spells or dragons. It was a wand or glass slipper. And it most certainly was in True Love's kiss or sleeping curses.

Emma knew all of this. That, however, didn't stop her mind from wandering. It also didn't stop her from screaming out in fright as John Doe took a gasping breath in and reached his hands up the second her lips touched his cheek.

"Oh God!" Emma cried leaping backwards, taking Henry with her on the way.

John Doe was now awake. Awake and currently trying to pull all his tubes and wires off.

"Momma you did it!" Henry cheered, clapping his hands from where he dangled in her arms.

"I- " Emma began before the noises started. All the machines surrounding John Doe were protesting the sudden changes. Everything was beeping. The lines on his heart monitor were jumping, and his IV stand was shrieking. Fortunately, Emma and Henry were the only one to notice.

Several nurses were now running into the room, trying to restrain John Doe. Dr. Whale – _did that man ever go home?_ – was hot on their heels.

"Is he okay?" Henry asked with a clearer head than Emma.

Dr. Whale seemed to notice them for the first time since entering the room. "Ms. Swan, if I could ask you to step out." He dismissed her before injecting something into John Doe's arm.

She did not need to be told twice. She grabbed her bag and drug Henry out of the room faster than she would have thought possible. Her mind was spinning.

 _He's awake. You kissed him. And he's awake._ The thoughts were running in a loop now. _That's ridicules. He did not wake up because you kissed him._

"Momma you kissed him and he woke up!" Henry said excitedly, jumping up and down in front of her. _Well fuck a duck,_ she thought, looking down at him and remembering that she wasn't alone. And that she wasn't the only one to witness the fact that a man mysteriously woke from a coma after a kiss from her. "That means you're his True Love!" He was clapping again. She really couldn't catch a break.

"Henry, I- he didn't – ugh. There's a lot of reasons that he could have woken up." Emma looked sadly down at her son. This plan had not worked out as she thought. _Sure, just show him that magic's not real. Don't worry the universe won't just majorly screw you over just for the fucking fun of it like it always does._

"Yeah, like cuz you're his True Love." He was giggling now. _Little bastard. Just like his Uncle James._

"No, Henry. I'm not his True Love." She tried to say it as gently as possible as she bent down to his level. "But now that he's waking up, we can find his family. We can ask him." She tried to put a smile on her face, despite the sinking feeling that her heart held once the words tumbled from her lips.

"But-" Henry began, his lower lips slowly sliding out further and further. _Oh no,_ she thought, _he's pulling out the pout._ His pout almost never failed to get him his way. But there was no way he could get what he wanted this time. Neither of them could.

Luckily, she was saved by the bell, as Dr. Whale came out of the room. "Ah, Ms. Swan."

"Doctor," she responded, waiting. What she was waiting for she couldn't really tell. Was it for his name? The marching order to go to the sheriff's station and find his family? Was it to tell her that a sleeping curse had just broke? That she was on a reality game show or just been punked?

"So it looks like today's the day." He began with a smile. "Looks like our John Doe is going to be fine after all."

"He's awake? Just like that?" She could see he was awake, but unlike the horses she knew so well, she didn't have years of experience with this. To believe in something like this, she would need a bit more. _I guess I'll have to figure out what it is I need a bit more of._

"Seems so, as of right now we really have no idea what caused him to wake up." He almost seemed as confused as her, but not nearly as concerned.

"I do! I do! I do!" Henry interrupted, waving his hand in the air while jumping up and down.

"Oh really?" Dr. Whale asked amused.

"Yeah it was-" Henry didn't get to finish that sentence before Emma slapped a hand over his mouth with a hurried "don't bother the doctor".

"So what now, do we call his family or the sheriff's station first?" Emma asked, feeling as if she was standing on the edge of a large abyss.

"Well that's kind of the thing," he seemed almost sheepish now, facing Henry and Emma. As if he had left something very important at home and just now realized he needed it. "We still don't really have any family to call. He doesn't seem to remember who he is."

 _Way to bury the lead on that one._

"He has amnesia?" Emma asked, clearly her life was becoming a telenovela.

"It's not actually surprising, he cracked his head of his door large hard enough to fracture his skull." He shrugged at this. Apparently when someone you're suddenly responsible for hits his head hard enough to forget who he is it's not a big deal. She would have to remember to turn that into a bumper sticker.

"He's been cursed again!" Henry said, after finally wiggling his head free of his mother's hold.

"What?" Dr. Whale didn't look as amused as he had before.

"Nothing." Emma said quickly, grabbing Henry again. "So what do we do now?"

"Now we monitor him. See if his memory starts coming back. You can go in and meet him if you like."

"Okay!" Henry yelled before taking off to John Doe's room.

"Henry!" Emma ran after him, tossing Dr. Whale an apologetic look as she did. _No reason to piss of Dr. Frankenstein._

Henry made it into the room before she could catch him, vaulting straight onto John Doe's bed and landing almost in his lap.

"You're finally awake!" Henry cheered once again.

Emma cringed watching John Doe, the man was clearly confused. His brow furrowed at Henry before turning his gaze to her.

Emma gasped. In all the confusion and panic she had yet to notice the eyes of the man she had been watching over. Now though, the most beautiful shade of deep blue was staring at her, leaving her breathless and paralyzed.

Emma believed what she saw, but though she could see the floor beneath her feet, she felt nothing but his eyes looking deep into hers and couldn't have told a soul what the truth of anything was in that moment.

He broke eye contact first, looking back to Henry, who was now bouncing up in down in front of John Doe talked excitedly about curses. Henry had climbed further into the man's lap, and was now one bounce away from tossing himself clean off the bed.

What happened next made Emma's knees weak. Sensing Henry's impending fall, the man reached up both hands and placed them on the small boy's waist to keep him steady. He winced at a particularly rapid bounce from Henry, and Emma realized that it probably hurt like hell to be holding Henry steady with his hand in a cast. The thought finally broke Emma from her trance.

"I'm so sorry." She said rushing forward quickly, to pull Henry off of the poor man.

 _Twenty seconds in as his guardian and already I've left a four year old attack him._

"Henry baby, you can't jump on him like that." Emma admonished, mostly for something to do rather than be pulled back into the questioning stare of her John Doe.

"It's quite alright." In that moment Emma thought she would remember those words for the rest of her life. The first words ever spoken between her and a man that had already been through so much together. And all of it without a single bit of his knowledge. It was the accent that pulled her eyes back to his, she had not been expecting an British accent from the leather jacket and biker boots.

As it turns out, looking back at him had been a mistake. Once again, Emma found herself locked in his gaze, and it seemed neither of them were inclined to break it. In other circumstances she might have been thinking about the blueness of his eyes, as if she was looking into an ocean or something like that, but now, as his gaze searched hers, she felt only as if she was looking into the eyes of an old and trusted friend. Someone she had known for a very long time, and someone who knew her better than herself. Cold licks of fear ran down her spine.

Henry was not as amused by this charade as he seemed to be everything else.

"Momma we woke him up." Henry reminded her, pulling on her hand with his. "We gotta break his new curse."

"My what?" John Doe asked just as Emma started to quite Henry again.

"You're curse! You were sleeping like the princess and now you can't remember so we gotta get your memories back so you can live happy ever after!" Henry gave John Doe a tooth grin, and Emma worried that he might make a jump for his bed again.

"Did you just call me a princess?" John Doe asked with an amused smirk. _That's what he focused on?_ Emma could help but chuckle to herself, and pray that he didn't toss that smirk her way. _Lord knows it could be trouble._

"Henry, why don't you go and wait with Dr. Whale while we talk okay?" Emma really didn't want Henry to slip and say more about sleeping curses… or how he thinks she broke it. _Yeah so you were in a coma and I kind of kissed you. No big deal, really!_

"Okay Momma, you can _talk_." _Did he just put air quotes around that?_ She couldn't believe Henry. Her son the wingman trying to set her up with the coma man. _Well kissing the guy probably didn't help to discourage him._

"Go." She said sternly, pushing his small shoulders to the door. She waited until the door swung shut to turn back to John Doe. When she did, she found him to be wearing a pained expression.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you when he jumped on you?" Emma stepped closer to his bed, hands waving in the air around him looking for something to do to ease his pain.

"I'm sorry," He said, looking at her again with pain.

"For what?" What could this man possibly be apologizing to her for?

"I don't remember you. Either of you, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry if that's going to hurt him, or you." He looked at her then with something, something she hadn't seen anyone look at her with in a long time. It made her want to run. It made her want to stay.

"Oh, no, you don't- I mean we don't- We've never met." She said quickly, the air around them becoming thick and awkward.

"What?" He asked, the pain had left his face to be replaced by confusion once again.

"We don't know each other. Well, I know you I guess. I mean, not really. I'm not making any sense am I?" She asked, only if to stop her rambling. She didn't quite understand what was happening. She was never one to get flustered easy. Something about this man just seemed to bring it out of her.

"I'm afraid not lass." The confusion was still there, but a new kind of pain seemed to be etching its way across his face. "Why don't you start at the beginning?"

 _Well that works._ Emma thought.


	5. Afire Love

_**Things were all good yesterday**_

 _ **And then the devil took your memory**_

 _ **And if you fell to your death today**_

 _ **I hope that heaven is your resting place**_

 _ **I heard the doctors put your chest in pain**_

 _ **But then that could have been the medicine**_

 _ **And now you're lying in the bed again**_

 _ **Either way I'll cry with the rest of them**_

 _ **Ed Sheeran – Afire Love.**_

He felt as if he was floating. He couldn't tell which way he was going, whether it was up or down, left of right. He simply seemed to be drifting in a sea of darkness. He didn't know when it would end, or if it ever would. He couldn't seem to remember what was waiting for him after this, only that something was. He couldn't remember what he had left in the first place. Come to think of it, he couldn't remember much of anything.

Somethings stood out in his mind. The color gold flashed in his mind. Something sun kissed and warm. As soon as it arrived, however, it disappeared. Slipping through his fingers like water as he desperately tried to hold on.

His mind seemed blissfully blank after that. And he continued to drift. Nothing really mattered anymore. Not here. He was safe here.

At least, until he felt a soft pressure against his cheek.

Suddenly he was floating anymore. He was falling, crashing and tumbling back into his own body. He wasn't sure if he had ever been so scared in his life. Throwing his hand up, he felt his fingers brush through something, and opened his eyes just in time to see long blond locks slip from his fingertips.

He would dwell on that later though, after he figured out why so many wires were strapped to him. He was vaguely aware of other people in the room, but he couldn't focus on them quite yet. HE had to get up first, there was something he was supposed to get to. Someone he was supposed to find. He remembered that much. What seemed to be frightening him the most though, was that he couldn't seem to remember much else. Not how he got here, or why he was here, or where here was. He couldn't recall even his own name. That didn't matter yet though. If he could just get up, then he could find them, that mysterious someone, and then he would remember. That had to be how it worked, because it had to work.

He didn't get far in his plan though, as soon as he had half of those awful cords off of him he was being pinned down, and several voices were talking to him at once.

"John Doe!"

"Mr. Doe."

"Honey you need to calm down."

It was all a jumble.

It didn't take long for him to realize he was in the hospital. It took longer for him to realize that his name wasn't actually John Doe, as the nurses around him had been calling him. The doctor who was attending him seemed to hold only a tad more information than he did.

Dr. Whale threw around words like "amnesia" and "memory loss" as if he was order burger at a fast food joint instead of reliving a classic telenovela twist.

"And you have no memories of before the accident?" Dr. Whale asked yet again.

"None." John Doe replied quietly, surveying the room around him. A women's jacket was slumped over a chair next to the bed. A child's storybook was lying on the floor where John had assumed it had been tossed in all the commotion.

"Well some memory loss is to be expected after your accident." Dr. Whale replied, not looking up from John Doe's file. "Although I hadn't expected it to be near this much."

"What happened?" John asked, now looking at his bandaged hand.

"You were in a car accident. You fractured your skull and nearly crushed your hand. Were lucky Emma got you in hear when she did." The doctor was now furiously writing notes in the file, barely pausing to look up at John as he continued. "Your hand came out well, and the fracture will heal, but I'd like to keep you for a couple of days to monitor you. As for the memory issue, well only time will tell."

"Emma?" John asked, confusion sweeping over his features, eyes darting back to the women's jacket next to his bed side.

"As yes, I should go speak with her. While I do you need to get some rest. I'd like to run some more tests tonight." Without waiting for a reply the pale doctor swept out of the room.

"Who the bloody hell is Emma?" He mumbled to himself, resting his sore head back against the pillows.

He didn't actually have to wait that long to find out.

"Henry!" A light voiced shirked before a small boy ran into the room and launched himself onto John's bed.

"You're finally awake!" The dark haired boy cheered with a tooth grin.

He was not prepared for this. He had just heard the name Emma, whom had had assumed the jacket belonged to, and now he could only assume he was meeting the owner of the book on his floor.

Footsteps caused him head to turn to the door.

His heart stopped. He couldn't remember a single sight before waking in this hospital bed, but he was sure that he had never seen something so beautiful as the woman now standing at his door.

Long blond curls – _or are they actual gold?_ – spilled down slender shoulders. Piercing green eyes were framed by long dark lashes resting against creamy pale cheeks. Although, the longer he watched her, the more they filled with a red bloom.

He became aware of the small voice in front of him, jumping up and down as he spoke. "She did it! She broke your curse! Well, I guess she only broke your sleeping curse, but don't worry! We're gonna break your remember curse too!"

The boy wasn't making a lick of sense, but he probably was going to fall of the bed at this rate. The though scared John more than he would ever admit, so before anything could happen, he grabbed the boy with both hands.

Henry didn't seem deterred by this in the slightest, bouncing away as before.

 _Bloody mother hell!_ John thought to himself as his casted hand screamed in protest.

It must have shown on his face, as the blond goddess suddenly step forward with apologies and a scolding remark to the boy. Watching the lad's face fall, even if it was only slightly, pushed John to say "It's quite alright."

He's fairly sure that speaking was the best decision that he has made so far, as the words pulled her green irises back to his. Looking into her eyes felt like coming home. He was sure without a doubt that he could deal with whatever had happened, as long as she was by his side. He briefly wondered if there was someone else on this planet that had ever looked at him like she knew his very sole, before disregarding the idea. This was something he was sure you only found once in a lifetime.

"Momma we woke him up." The small boy said, reminding her of his presence and tearing their gazes apart with a pull at her hand. "We gotta break his new curse."

"My what?" John asked the boy before his mother could properly shush him.

"You're curse! You were sleeping like the princess and now you can't remember so we gotta get your memories back so you can live happy ever after!"

"Did you just call me a princess?" John Doe asked with an amused smirk. He was very manly thank you very much… At least, he thought he was. _This whole no memory business is turning into quite the load._

"Henry, why don't you go and wait with Dr. Whale while we talk okay?" Emma, at least he assumed this was Emma, said. _Oh god what if her name isn't Emma?_ What if he called this wonderful woman in front of him by the wrong name? What would she think? They were clearly something, if the look in her eyes was any indication. What if he was some kind of idiot who had been in a car with a woman named Emma while this golden siren was waiting for him at home with his dark haired boy?

"Okay Momma, you can _talk_." _Cheeky devil._ John thought to himself, with a faint grin.

"Go." She said sternly, steering the boy out of the room. As she did, John began to panic. He didn't remember her. She looked at him with wonder, and her son with affection and he couldn't remember them. He couldn't remember anything. What would become of his life? What new kind of life was he going to lead in which these two bright souls were strangers to him? And what of the life he left behind? Dr. Whale had said that they would have to wait and see on his memories, but what if they never came back? What if he never remembered the young boy's first steps? Or the first time he met Emma? What would they do? What would she do?

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you when he jumped on you?" Emma stepped closer to his bed, hands waving in the air around him looking for something to do to ease his pain.

She was lost, he could see that, he could feel that too, in her and in himself. All he could bring himself to say was "I'm sorry."

For the first time it was her turn to look confused. "For what?"

How could she possibly wonder for what? For putting her through this. For probably hurting little Henry if his memory never came back. For hurting her. For everything.

"I don't remember you. Either of you, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry if that's going to hurt him, or you." He couldn't begin to decipher the emotions that ran across her face.

"Oh, no, you don't- I mean we don't- We've never met." He never knew how quickly a heart could break.

"What?" He asked, merely for something to say.

"We don't know each other. Well, I know you I guess. I mean, not really. I'm not making any sense am I?" Her face was turning that lovely shade of pink again, but it only served to cut deep into his somehow still beating heart.

"I'm afraid not lass." _To any Gods that might be listening, please don't let this be true. Don't give me this just to turn around and take it away._ "Why don't you start at the beginning?"

She took a deep breath.

In the end, each line hurt more than the one before it. She told him about the accident. About finding him alone on the side of the road. About riding back to town with him. How his car had gone up in flames. And most importantly, how no one seemed to know him. And most painfully, how no one had come to claim him.

He had been in a coma for a while. And still, no one was looking for him? No woman waiting by a phone for the cops to tell her he was alright? No kids wondering when their father was coming home.

 _You're blood pathetic. The woman saved your life, stop pushing your needs on her._

"Since we don't know who you are yet, we haven't had anyone to call. But in the meantime, since I was the one to bring you in, Dr. Whale put me as you emergency contact."

He felt numb and tired. He almost wished he was floating again.

"Yet." He sighed.

"Hey, we will." She said, reaching forward from the chair she had sat in to grab a hold of his good hand.

His eyes found hers again. Blue melted into green.

"You sound quite sure love."

He watched a shiver roll down her spine at the endearment. "I am." She squeezed his hand. "Finding the truth, it's what I'm good at. It's what I do."

And despite everything, he believed her.


	6. Truth

_**So this is what the truth feels like**_

 _ **This is more of what I had in mind**_

 _ **Yeah this is what the truth feels like**_

 _ **And I'm feeling it, I'm feeling it**_

 _ **Something about this just feels so right, alright**_

 _ **Truth – Gwen Stefani**_

 _The truth is a bitch._

The sediment was one of the many things rolling around Emma's head for the next several days. She had promised John Doe that she would find out who he was, but so far she was no closer to an answer. After talking with the man, Dr. Whale had come back into the room for more tests and she and Henry were off to see August.

 _Too bad August didn't have problems with the truth._

Unfortunately for Emma, Henry had babbled excitedly to her best friend before she could stop him, and now August knew all about what he was now calling "True Love's Kiss". She was never going to live that down. Although, she had pinched him hard behind Henry's back until he agreed to keep that secret between the two of them and not tell her two big brothers.

Emma sighed watching the horse in front of her. She had visited the hospital early today – without Henry because she really didn't need that headache thanks you very much – and was now back at the ranch and back to work.

Today she was working with another client horses, a large painted Gypsy Vanner by the name of Nana whose owner - _John something or other-_ wanted trained as a vaulting horse. Emma loved her job, she really did. Working with horses had been her dream from the moment she saw Ruth working with her husband's old chestnut as a young girl. But it was days like these that she remembered one certain fact.

 _The truth is a bitch,_ she thought angrily.

Nana's owner had told her that Nana had never been trained in vaulting in any form, something which Emma actually liked. A blank slate was always easier. But looking at the paint loping around the ring, Emma could tell that that had been a lie. Nana most certainly had some training on her, and it was all wrong.

Emma rubbed one hand across her sore neck as she watched the horse. She wondered how many trainers this poor mare had already gone through before winding up at Mist Haven. She was going to have her work cut out for her as she tried to retrain all of the mare's bad habits. Which meant another unfortunate truth; today was going to be long.

 _The truth's a bitch,_ she sighed dejectedly.

Emma was beyond tired when she finally made it into the house that night. She was grateful that Mary Margret had watched Henry for the night, letting her catch up on all the work that had fallen sideways with everything going on. She would certainly blame all the stress and work for what she would do next.

Emma had just finished eating her reheated dinner – _another thank you to Mary Margret_ – when the landline rang.

Not bothering to check the caller ID Emma answered with a tired "Hello?"

"Ms. Swan? It's Dr. Whale, are you busy?"

"Not at all." Emma said sitting up straighter. She had just spoken to Dr. Whale that morning before her visit with John Doe. _What could possibly have gone wrong now?_

"Good, good. Sorry to call so late but I figured it would be best to give you a heads up before tomorrow." He didn't seem all that sorry but with thoughts of lightning and levers Emma let it slide.

"For what?" Emma asked, less creeped out now and more confused.

"I've finished all my tests on John Doe, everything but his memory seems to be in great shape –" Emma tried not to let the great shape line lead her thoughts on to a different path "- and I'll be discharging him tomorrow. So if you can pick him up around 10 and then he'll only need to come back in once a week for rechecks."

"Are you sure he's ready?" Emma was reeling. The man had just been in a coma, could they honestly be thinking of sending him home already? "He just woke up!"

Dr. Whale let out a laugh before he answered. "Completely sure Ms. Swan. That's the power of science. So I'll look forward to seeing you tomorrow at 10."

"Alright," Emma relented before hanging up the phone.

It was half way through brushing her teeth that Emma had realized what she had just done.

 _John Doe doesn't have a home to be sent back to, and I'm the one picking him up._

John Doe, the man with the startlingly blue eyes and drop dead sexy accent was coming home with her.

 _Crap._

Henry, the little traitor, was thrilled at the news. He spent the better part of their morning helping Emma set up John's room. It wasn't much. The house it's self was quite large, it had been in Ruth's family for six generations and she had always kept the spare rooms set up for guests. When to her great surprise, the house came into her possession, Emma had kept up the habit. Still, she wasn't quite the home maker that Ruth had been. The sheets were clean and the curtains were up letting the morning sun flow through the room. She might not have warm cookies on a plate and perfectly fluffed pillows, but Emma considered it a win.

Henry was now bouncing excitedly up and down beside her as she stood waiting by the front desk of the hospital for John Doe to arrive. Emma wished she could share his enthusiasm. Instead she only felt worry clawing through her chest.

 _What if he doesn't want to stay with us? What it the whole thing creeps him out and he's just too polite to say anything?_

Emma hadn't even gotten to the point about worrying about what to do with him once she did get him home. She decided to panic about that when she had more time, and preferably a pillow to scream into.

 _Someone really should have written a book on this or something: How to care for the coma guy you found on the street 101. Small talk with Strangers for Dummies._

Emma knew they wouldn't sell many copies but a part of her in this moment couldn't help but wish for such titles to be found on the shelves of the local bookstore.

Emma would have to check amazon later, because John Doe, who was now out of his hospital gown and back in his leather jacket, was being rolled towards Henry and her by a disgruntled looking nurse.

"I've bloody well told you already!" His loud voice traveled. Or at least Emma hoped it did, she hoped that she wasn't already that good at picking his accent out of her surrounding noises. "I still have my legs! It's my sodding hand that's in a wrap, I can walking!"

 _Well no wonder the nurse looks as if she's going to put his other hand in a brace._

Emma couldn't help but be amused by this. Clearly she wasn't the only one a little on edge today. The amusement faded fast when his eyes landed on her. His clear blue orbs were startled, and held something close to disbelief.

"Swan." He had taken to calling her by her surname since waking up. Emma loved it.

"Anything?" She asked, trying to ignore how shocked he looked to see her waiting for him at discharge.

He seemed to calm down a bit. "Nothing."

This had become something of a game between the two. Rather than asking every time she saw him whether or not his memory had come back, Emma simply asked one word.He seemed to appreciate that after giving his response she dropped it. No point in dwelling on missing memories. It wouldn't bring them back. What neither of them ever said was that maybe nothing could.

"What are you doing here?" He still seemed a bit uncertain.

"We're going home!" Henry cheered, rushing forward to leap straight into John Doe's lap.

"Oh god, sorry. It that allowed?" Emma asked the nurse behind John.

"Whatever keeps him in the chair. I need to get him out the doors before he can stand up." The frazzled nurse pushed him forward as Emma signed the last of John Doe's paper work and followed.

As the nurse had predicted, Henry kept John in the chair. Her boy was laughing excitedly, telling John all about the horses and the pond, and all the other things Henry would show him when they got home. Emma tried and failed to stop her heart swelling at the sight.

Standing up, John took henry with him, balancing the boy on his hips as he turned to Emma.

"I'm going with you?" He asked, insecurity flashing across his beautiful face before he could mask it.

Emma felt a crack run along her heart at the thought. He hadn't been uncomfortable and short with the nurse that morning because he was worried about going home with her when he left. He had been worried about where he was going to go at all.

"You really think I'd let you wander the streets of Storybrooke alone?" She teased with a tense smile.

"Given our lack of history, can you blame me for being uncertain?" Something in his blue eyes flashed, some long standing hurt that ran deep through him. Emma was certain not even he knew why it was there.

"I guess not." Her response was quite, soft in a way he hadn't heard before. The moment was broken by Henry, arms flailing as he gestured to the car excitedly. "We better get going," Emma began over Henry's excited yells. "We've got a lot to do today."

Emma tried to convince herself that it was one of Henry's flying arms that knocked the wind out of John Doe's chest, and not the smile she had given him a moment before. But then again, the truth's a bitch.


	7. Home

**Hold on to me as we go,**

 **As we roll down this unfamiliar road,**

 **And although this wave is stringing us along,**

 **Just know you're not alone,**

' **Cause I'm gonna make this place your home.**

 **Phillip Phillips, Home**

Emma's fingers drummed nervously along the steering wheel of David's truck. It was far from the only sound in the car though. Henry had not yet stopped talking to John Doe. His small voice chattering excitedly about all the horses at the farm, and how he would show Mr. Doe the right way to brush a horse, was the only thing keeping Emma remotely calm.

For his part, John seemed to be taking everything in strides. He hmmed and aahhed in all the right places during Henry stories, and never once seemed bothered by the boy.

 _Another heart-warming thing to add to the ever growing list._ Emma thought nervously. She didn't need thoughts like those, or this list of things about this man that made her smile. She didn't want any of it. The situation was already too complicated. Emma didn't do complicated. Not if she could avoid it.

"Is this yours?" John's voice snapped her back to attention. They had just turned off the road and into the drive of Misthaven.

"Sure is." Emma replied. It had been a long time since Emma had wondered what people thought of her home. It was such a fixture in not only her life, but everyone in the town. Over the years almost ever horse owner had brought her one creature or another. And much to her dismay, since Mary Margret had moved in with David her kitchen had become something of a refuge for the down trodden to be cheered up by the short haired woman.

Growing up, the ranch had been heaven on earth to Emma. Nothing had seemed more beautiful, from the large oak trees that framed the drive to the clear pond out back by the southern horse pasture. Even now, there was no better way to start her day than to look out across the fields at the sun rising around the barn, around the shelters in the pastures that Emma had helped Ruth and the boys put up when she was only 10. Emma still loved everything about the ranch, and always would. It was home.

Looking at it now though, Emma had to wonder. The sign out front had faded since she was a kid, and the wooden fence had long since sun bleached. It was the lawn, however, that gave her pause. Ever since his sudden reappearance in Storybrooke James had decided that it was his job to mow the lawn. Much to David's horror. James had never been much for yard work growing up, not like his brother. And now he still wasn't much better. He had no sense of plan when he climbed onto the ride on mower. He mainly circled around the lawn, cutting as he seemed fit and stopping for the day in random places. He never finished everything in one cut, and as a result the lawn had strange patches of longer grass and was in serious need of a good weed whipping.

As they pulled up to the garage, Emma cringed at the memory of James first time on the mower.

" **He's gonna break it!" David whined to Emma.**

" **I'm not gonna break anything!" James protested, settling into the mower's seat.**

" **It's my mower!" David protested again, throwing his hands in the air as if he was five again.**

" **You don't even live here anymore!" James exclaimed. "Thus it is MY job to take care of the lawn!"**

" **I'm going to be living here again until we get the renovations done!" David countered, attempting to push James off the mower.**

" **Children! Enough!" Emma scolded clapping her hands twice to get their attention. "Now," Emma began once they both had their hand to themselves again, "David, it is your mower- "**

" **Yeah my brand new mower!" He quieted down again at the sight of her glare.**

" **BUT you need to share. What kind of example is this for Henry? Just let him cut the grass today, and will see who cuts it next time. Alright?" She leveled them with her best mom stare.**

" **Sounds good to me." James said, looking to much like the cat that got the canary for Emma's taste.**

" **Just once." David conceded.**

 **James started up the mower and pulled out of the garage. He lowered the blades once he hit the grass… only to drive directly over a pile of rocks.**

 **David cried out running after James as he now drove the mower full speed away. Emma merely rubbed the bridge of her nose and wondered how long she would survive having the two of them in their childhood home again.**

Emma was grateful that the repairs kept David busy enough that he wasn't trying to re cut every mow job James did, but as she watched John Doe's eyes sweep across the property, a small part of her couldn't help but wish he had.

Emma wondered what John Doe thought of it. Did he see how the afternoon sun danced lazily along the barn roof? Did he notice how the wind chimes rung out sweetly in the gentle breeze? Did he see that it was beautiful? When he saw the missing bark on the tree by the front lawn could he see that was a memory without knowing how David had swiped it off his first time trying to back the horse trailer into the drive? Did he know that the tacky door mat was more than just something to wipe your boots off on? That it was a souvenir from August's trip to New Mexico? Did he see that despite being old and rickety that the front porch swing had held six generations of Nolans in it? And if by some miracle he could see or know these things, would he care? Would he look at the ranch as Emma did, or did he just see something less? Something not quite the home Emma knew?

She waited for him to say something. Anything. The moment seemed to hang in front of her, unmoving and torturous.

"It's beautiful." He spoke softly, turning his head towards Emma as her did. "It's quite the land you Captain here Swan."

Looking into his ocean blue eyes, full of nothing but sincerity – and perhaps envy? - Emma suddenly wasn't so nervous anymore.

"So we have a guest room you'll be staying in," Emma told John as they walked into the foyer of the old house.

"Who will be staying in?" James voice rang out from the top of the stairs. "Holy shit, John Doe up and about. Who would've thought we'd see the day." James came bounding down the stairs, bearing a great deal of resemblance to an overgrown puppy.

"Deputy Nolan," John said politely, extending his hand.

"He knows my name and everything! I mean for a guy who doesn't even know his own name that's pretty impressive! What?" he asked, seeing the look on Emma's face. "Too soon?"

"Yeah Uncle Jay I'm pretty sure six seconds is too soon!" Henry piped up from behind Emma.

"Solid Supernatural reference little man." James held up his hand for a high five. Emma put her face in her hands.

"…What's supernatural about it?" John asked with a confused tilt of his head.

"It's a tv show. Kind of a long story as to why Henry watches it – just… Just don't ask." Emma sighed. "Anyway, you two have already met?"

"Nope-" James said just as John replied with an "Aye-"

Emma looked back and forth between the two.

"I think as the one without brain damage we should go with my answer here." James said with an awkward pat to John's shoulder.

"But- But you questioned me when I woke up from the accident!" John exclaimed, flabbergasted.

"Ah- there it is!" James said happily, "we have found the confusion! I didn't in fact, ask you anything."

John merely looked skeptically at James.

"What didn't you ask him?" David asked, walking in the door behind John.

Emma wished she had a camera to capture how fast John's head swung between her two adoptive brothers.

"Bloody hell Swan. You're seeing two as well? Or is this another effect of the crash?"

Emma took pity on his wide eyes. "John, this is my brothers James and David," she pointed at each respectively, "and both are also known as Deputy Nolan."

"Ah," was John's only reply.

"Whatcha doing here anyway?" James asked, now picking Henry up to place him on his hip.

 _Oh dear Lord._ Emma hadn't planned for this. She hadn't realized that she would have to be the one to tell her family that the random man she pulled out of a burning car was now going to be part of their lives for the foreseeable future.

"He's staying here until we find out who he is." Thankfully it was David who replied. "Would you like to see your room?" He asked John kindly.

"He's staying here?" James exclaimed. "Oh well this is going to be fun." He smirked tossing the arm that wasn't holding Henry up around John's shoulders before pulling him along. "Welcome to the nut house man, and don't worry, were all mad here."

 _One child. One do-gooder. One over protective brother. One prankster brother. One amnesia patient. One extremely uncomfortable mother, one roof, and no end in sight._ Yeah, this is gonna be great.Emma shuddered as she followed the boys up the stairs to John's new room.


End file.
